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San Diego's Petco Park to host 2014 Davis Cup

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Press Release |

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., November 5, 2013 - The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier announced today that San Diego's Petco Park has been selected as the site for the 2014 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round match between the United States and Great Britain, January 31-February 2. The matches will be played on a clay court in a temporary stadium built in left field, which will have an expected capacity of approximately 8,000. (rendering attached)

It will be the first time Davis Cup is played in an open air baseball stadium in the United States and the first time the U.S. Davis Cup team hosted a tie on clay since the 1992 semifinals (U.S. def. Sweden, 4-1 in Minneapolis).

Reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray is expected to compete for Great Britain.

The event is being organized, staged and promoted by the USTA. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on December 6 (a USTA member pre-sale begins December 4). For more information, fans can call the U.S. Davis Cup hotline at (888) 484-8782 or visit www.usta.com/daviscup.

"Our squad is ready to go up against a tough adversary in the British squad," said U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier. "Andy Murray is one of the strongest players in the sport and we expect our home crowd to come out and support us in what will be a thrilling Davis Cup tie."

The best-of-five match series begins Friday, January 31, with two singles matches, featuring each country's No. 1 player against the other country's No. 2 player. Saturday's schedule features the pivotal doubles match, and the final day of play on Sunday includes two "reverse singles" matches, where the No. 1 players square off followed by the No. 2 players going head-to-head. All matches are best-of-five sets until one country wins three matches.

"We are proud to bring Davis Cup to San Diego and tennis to Petco Park," said Padres President & CEO Mike Dee. "This ballpark was built on the promise of being a multi-use venue that would bring year-round events to San Diego. We look forward to seeing the transformation of left field into a state-of-the-art clay court tennis venue."

The U.S. is 110-17 all-time in Davis Cup ties played at home and has played in 78 different venues in 34 states. The U.S. Davis Cup team in 17-2 in the state of California and is undefeated in six matches in the San Diego area (1-0 in San Diego and LaJolla; 4-0 in Carlsbad).

"Having Davis Cup return to the area allows us to showcase San Diego to a global audience," said Mike McDowell, President, San Diego Sports Commission. "We expect a large, patriotic crowd to come to Petco Park to support the U.S. team."

The United States-Great Britain rivalry is the oldest in Davis Cup history, dating back to the first competition in 1900, when the U.S. defeated Great Britain in Boston. The U.S. last faced Great Britain in the 1999 World Group first round in England and won that tie, 3-2, when Courier rallied in the fifth and decisive match to defeat Greg Rusedski in the fifth set, 8-6. Courier also won a five-set match on the opening day of that tie, defeating Tim Henman in 4 hours, 12 minutes.

The U.S. holds an 11-7 record against Great Britain in Davis Cup play, winning the last four ties. Great Britain's last win in the series came in 1935. The 1999 first round tie was the only meeting between the two nations under the current World Group format.

This will be the third consecutive home tie for the U.S. Davis Cup team after hosting the 2013 Davis Cup first round and quarterfinal in Jacksonville, Fla., and Boise, Idaho, respectively.

Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage of the U.S. vs. Great Britain Davis Cup match. The winner of the United States and Great Britain tie will play either Italy or Argentina in the quarterfinals, April 4-6.

The site selection is subject to final approval by the International Tennis Federation.

Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world's largest annual international men's team competition with 123 nations competing in 2014. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. The United States holds a 213-67 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com.